Hospice vs Home Care

Hospice care and home health care are both provided to patients where they live. But these services are not the same.

A Medicare beneficiary who is terminally ill with a prognosis of 6 months or less “if the disease follows a normal course” is eligible to receive hospice services. Once enrolled, the beneficiary will receive a comprehensive plan of care providing all services needed to manage the terminal diagnosis and related symptoms. An interdisciplinary team including nurses, social workers, chaplains and, in most cases, hospice aides will visit the patient according to the hospice plan of care. The patient may remain in hospice services as long as he or she is identifiably terminally ill. In most cases, patients remain in the hospice program until they pass away.

Hospice vs Home Care

A Medicare beneficiary who cannot leave home without considerable and taxing difficulty and also requires “skilled” care on an intermittent basis is eligible for the home health benefit. Visits will be made to the patient according to patient need. The patient who stabilizes or improves may be discharged from home health care. Other patients may receive home health services for an extended period of time.

Sometimes physicians will offer patients a choice: Hospice? Or home health care? Here are the significant differences:

Location

Hospice care is available to patients wherever they live. Even patients who reside in long term care facilities may receive hospice services.

Home health services are generally only available when patients live in a private home or an assisted living facility.

Medication

Hospice pays for medication related to the terminal illness.

Home health pays for no medication.

Medical Equipment

Hospice pays 100% of the cost of necessary medical equipment.

Home health pays for no equipment directly. If the patient passes certain qualification tests, Medicare will pay 80% of the cost of needed equipment.